Resolving ambiguities related to NR cell quality derivation

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are disclosed herein for enabling a User Equipment (UE) to perform cell quality derivation in a wireless communication network utilizing parameters from an appropriate measurement object. In some embodiments, a method of operation of a UE to perform cell quality derivation in a wireless communication network comprises obtaining parameters to perform cell quality derivation for a serving cell of the UE from a measurement object that contains frequency information that matches frequency information provided in a serving cell configuration of the serving cell. The method further comprises performing cell quality derivation for the serving cell based on the obtained parameters. In this manner, the UE is enabled to perform cell quality derivation using parameters from an appropriate measurement object.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a 371 of International Application No.PCT/M2019/051300, filed Feb. 18, 2019, which claims the benefit of andpriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/632,292, filedFeb. 19, 2018, entitled “RESOLVING AMBIGUITIES RELATED TO NR CELLQUALITY DERIVATION,” the disclosures of which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a wireless communication network and,in particular, to cell quality derivation in a wireless communicationnetwork.

Background New Radio (NR) and Beamforming

Multi-antenna schemes for Third Generation Partnership Program (3GPP) NR(also referred to as “Fifth Generation (5G)”) are currently beingdiscussed in 3GPP. For NR, frequency ranges up to 100 Gigahertz (GHz)are considered. High-frequency radio communication above 6 GHz suffersfrom significant path loss and penetration loss. Therefore, MultipleInput Multiple Output (MIMO) schemes for NR are considered.

With massive MIMO, three approaches to beamforming have been discussed,namely, analog beamforming, digital beamforming, and hybrid beamforming(i.e., a combination of analog and digital beamforming). An examplediagram for hybrid beamforming is shown in FIG. 1. Beamforming can be ontransmission beams and/or reception beams, network side or UserEquipment (UE) side.

The analog beam of a subarray can be steered toward a single directionon each Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, andhence the number of subarrays determines the number of beam directionsand the corresponding coverage on each OFDM symbol. However, the numberof beams to cover the whole serving area is typically larger than thenumber of subarrays, especially when the individual beam width isnarrow. Therefore, to cover the whole serving area, multipletransmissions with narrow beams differently steered in the time domainare also likely to be needed. The provision of multiple narrow coveragebeams for this purpose has been called “beam sweeping”. For analog andhybrid beamforming, the beam sweeping seems to be essential to providethe basic coverage in NR. For this purpose, multiple OFDM symbols, inwhich differently-steered beams can be transmitted through subarrays,can be assigned and periodically transmitted. Two examples of this beamsweeping are shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. However, other examples usingdiffering numbers of subarrays are also possible.

Synchronization Signal (SS) Block Configuration

Herein, a non-limiting example of SS block and SS burst configurationare described, which may be assumed for the description provided herein.The signals comprised in an SS block may be used for measurements on aNR carrier, including intra-frequency measurements, inter-frequencymeasurements, and inter Radio Access Technology (RAT) measurements(i.e., NR measurements from another RAT).

SS Block (also referred to as SS/Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) Blockor SSB): NR Primary Synchronization Signal (NR-PSS), NR SecondarySynchronization Signal (NR-SSS), and/or NB PBCH (NR-PBCH) can betransmitted within an SS block. For a given frequency band, an SS blockcorresponds to N OFDM symbols based on one subcarrier spacing (e.g.,default or configured), and N is a constant. UEs are able to identify atleast the OFDM symbol index, the slot index in a radio frame, and theradio frame number from an SS block. A single set of possible SS blocktime locations (e.g., with respect to a radio frame or with respect toan SS burst set) is specified per frequency band. At least for themulti-beam case, at least the time index of the SS block is indicated tothe UE. The position(s) of actual transmitted SS blocks can be informedfor helping CONNECTED/IDLE mode measurement, for helping CONNECTED modeUE to receive downlink (DL) data/control in unused SS blocks, andpotentially for helping IDLE mode UE to receive DL data/control inunused SS blocks. The maximum number of SS blocks within an SS burstset, L, for different frequency ranges is as follows:

-   -   for frequency range up to 3 GHz, L is 4,    -   for frequency range from 3 GHz to 6 GHz, L is 8, and    -   for frequency range from 6 GHz to 52.6 GHz, L is 64

SS Burst Set: One or multiple SS burst(s) further compose an SS burstset (or series), where the number of SS bursts within a SS burst set isfinite. From the physical layer specification perspective, at least oneperiodicity of an SS burst set is supported. From the UE perspective, SSburst set transmission is periodic. At least for initial cell selection,the UE may assume a default periodicity of SS burst set transmission fora given carrier frequency (e.g., one of 5 milliseconds (ms), 10 ms, 20ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, or 160 ms). The UE may assume that a given SS block isrepeated with a SS burst set periodicity. By default, the UE may neitherassume the NR base station (gNB) transmits the same number of physicalbeam(s) nor the same physical beam(s) across different SS blocks withinan SS burst set. In a special case, an SS burst set may comprise one SSburst.

For each carrier, the SS blocks may be time-aligned or overlap fully orat least in part, or the beginning of the SS blocks may be time-aligned(e.g., when the actual number of transmitted SS blocks is different indifferent cells).

An example configuration of SS blocks, SS bursts, and SS burst sets orseries is shown in FIG. 3.

All SS blocks within a burst set are within a 5 ms window, but thenumber of SS blocks within such a window depends on the numerology(e.g., up to 64 SS blocks with 240 kilohertz (kHz) subcarrier spacing).An example mapping for SS blocks within a time slot and within the 5 mswindow is illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B.

NR Measurement Model

In RRC_CONNECTED, the UE measures at least one beam but potentiallymultiple beams of a cell, and the measurement results (e.g., powervalues) are averaged to derive the cell quality. In doing so, the UE isconfigured to consider a subset of the detected beams: the N best beamsabove an absolute threshold. Filtering takes place at two differentlevels, namely, at the physical layer to derive beam quality and then atthe Radio Resource Control (RRC) level to derive cell quality frommultiple beams. Cell quality from beam measurements is derived in thesame way for the serving cell(s) and for the non-serving cell(s).Measurement reports may contain the measurement results of the X bestbeams if the UE is configured to do so by the gNB.

The corresponding high-level measurement model is illustrated in FIG. 5and described below. Note that K beams correspond to the measurements ona NR-SS block or Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS)resources configured for Layer 3 (L3) mobility by gNB and detected bythe UE at Layer 1 (L1) (i.e., the physical layer). Looking at FIG. 5:

-   -   A: Measurements (beam specific samples) internal to the physical        layer.    -   Layer 1 filtering: Internal Layer 1 filtering of the inputs        measured at point A.

Exact filtering is implementation dependent. How the measurements areactually executed in the physical layer by an implementation (inputs Aand Layer 1 filtering) is not constrained by the NR standard.

-   -   A¹: Measurements (i.e., beam specific measurements) reported by        Layer 1 to Layer 3 after Layer 1 filtering.    -   Beam Consolidation/Selection: Beam specific measurements are        consolidated to derive cell quality if N>1, else when N=1 the        best beam measurement is selected to derive cell quality. The        behavior of the beam consolidation/selection is standardized,        and the configuration of this module is provided by RRC        signaling. Reporting period at B equals one measurement period        at A¹.    -   B: A measurement (i.e., cell quality) derived from beam-specific        measurements reported to Layer 3 after beam        consolidation/selection.    -   Layer 3 filtering for cell quality: Filtering performed on the        measurements provided at point B. The behavior of the Layer 3        filters is standardized, and the configuration of the Layer 3        filters is provided by RRC signaling. Filtering reporting period        at C equals one measurement period at B.    -   C: A measurement after processing in the Layer 3 filter. The        reporting rate is identical to the reporting rate at point B.        This measurement is used as input for one or more evaluations of        reporting criteria.    -   Evaluation of reporting criteria: Checks whether actual        measurement reporting is necessary at point D. The evaluation        can be based on more than one flow of measurements at reference        point C, e.g. to compare between different measurements. This is        illustrated by input C and C¹. The UE evaluates the reporting        criteria at least every time a new measurement result is        reported at point C, C¹. The reporting criteria are        standardized, and the configuration is provided by RRC signaling        (UE measurements).    -   D: Measurement report information (message) sent on the radio        interface.    -   L3 Beam filtering: Filtering performed on the measurements        (i.e., beam specific measurements) provided at point A¹. The        behavior of the beam filters is standardized, and the        configuration of the beam filters is provided by RRC signaling.        Filtering reporting period at E equals one measurement period at        A¹.    -   E: A measurement (i.e., beam-specific measurement) after        processing in the beam filter. The reporting rate is identical        to the reporting rate at point A¹. This measurement is used as        input for selecting the X measurements to be reported.    -   Beam Selection for beam reporting: Selects the X measurements        from the measurements provided at point E. The behavior of the        beam selection is standardized, and the configuration of this        module is provided by RRC signaling.    -   F: Beam measurement information included in measurement report        (sent) on the radio interface.

Layer 1 filtering introduces a certain level of measurement averaging.How and when the UE exactly performs the required measurements isimplementation specific to the point that the output at B fulfils theperformance requirements set in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS)38.133. Layer 3 filtering for cell quality and related parameters usedare specified in 3GPP TS 38.331 and does not introduce any delay in thesample availability between B and C. Measurement at point C, C¹ is theinput used in the event evaluation. L3 beam filtering and relatedparameters used are specified in 3GPP TS 38.331 and do not introduce anydelay in the sample availability between E and F.

Measurement reports are characterized by the following:

-   -   Measurement reports include the measurement identity of the        associated measurement configuration that triggered the        reporting.    -   Cell and beam measurement quantities to be included in        measurement reports are configured by the network.    -   The number of non-serving cells to be reported can be limited        through configuration by the network.    -   Cells belonging to a blacklist configured by the network are not        used in event evaluation and reporting, and conversely when a        whitelist is configured by the network, only the cells belonging        to the whitelist are used in event evaluation and reporting.    -   Beam measurements to be included in measurement reports are        configured by the network (beam identifier only, measurement        result and beam identifier, or no beam reporting).

NR Cell Quality Derivation

In RAN2 #97-bis in Spokane, the following has been agreed concerningcell quality derivation:

1 Averaging is used to derive the cell quality from multiple beams (ifnumber of beams is larger than 1). Details averaging are FFS

Agreement 1 Serving cell quality is derived in the same way as neighbourcell quality (i.e. N best). FFS whether a UE can be configured with adifferent values of N for the serving cell, and for specific neighbourcells.

Agreements 1: NR UE shall not consolidate NR-SS beam measurements andCSI-RS beam measurements together to derive a cell level measurement. 2:NR UE shall compare cell level measurements of different cells using thesame type of RS(s). In another words, NR does not support comparisonbetween NR-SS based measurement of a cell and CSI-RS based measurementof another cell.

In RAN2 #98 in Hangzhou, the following has been agreed concerning cellquality derivation:

Agreements for combining of beam measurements if N > 1: 1 Averaging willbe based on power values (i.e. not dBm values) Working assumption:Average of up to best N of the detected beams above absolute threshold

Agreements N (used in cell quality derivation) is configured percarrier. FFS Whether a different value can be configured for NR-SS andCSI-RS and whether it can be configured per cell.

Then, in RAN2 #AdHoc in Qingdao:

Agreement 1 Cell quality should be derived by averaging the best beamwith the up to N-1 best beams above absolute configured threshold.

And, finally in RAN #99 in Berlin, the following was agreed:

Agreements 1: Independent N and independent threshold should beconfigured per carrier frequency in the MeasObject for NR-SS based andCSI-RS based L3 mobility. (This agreement does not have any implicationon the number of CSI-RS resources that can be configured per cell)

The abovementioned agreements were translated in the RRC specifications(3GPP TS 38.331) by defining cell quality derivation parameters perReference Signal (RS) type (both the maximum number(s) of beams to beaveraged and the absolute threshold(s) to define good beams) and withinthe MeasObjectNR Information Element (IE), as shown below:

It is worth mentioning that the sections above have focused on twoparameters per RS type for Cell Quality Derivation (CQD), namely, maxnumber of beams to be averaged and threshold for good beams. However,other parameters within the MeasObjectNR in addition to the previousones are also need for CQD or are at least relevant for eventtriggering, such as:

-   -   Cell lists (black cells, white cells);    -   Reference signal configuration including:        -   SS/PBCH Block Measurement Time Configuration (SMTC)            configuration(s);        -   Nominal SSBs to measure;        -   SSB and/or CSI-RS subcarrier spacing(s);    -   Filtering configurations;    -   Frequency/cell specific offsets.

SUMMARY

Systems and methods are disclosed herein for enabling a User Equipment(UE) to perform cell quality derivation in a wireless communicationnetwork utilizing parameters from an appropriate measurement object. Insome embodiments, a method of operation of a UE to perform cell qualityderivation in a wireless communication network comprises obtainingparameters to perform cell quality derivation for a serving cell of theUE from a measurement object that contains frequency information thatmatches frequency information provided in a serving cell configurationof the serving cell. The method further comprises performing cellquality derivation for the serving cell based on the obtainedparameters. In some embodiments, the UE is configured, by the wirelesscommunication network, with one or more measurement objects, and themeasurement object from which the parameters to perform cell qualityderivation for the serving cell are obtained by the UE is a particularmeasurement object from among the one or more measurement objects. Inthis manner, the UE is enabled to perform cell quality derivation usingparameters from an appropriate measurement object.

In some embodiments, the frequency information is information thatindicates a frequency location of Synchronization Signal/PhysicalBroadcast Channel Block (SSB) to be measured or to be used as asynchronization source for Channel State Information Reference Signal(CSI-RS) resources. In some other embodiments, the frequency informationis information that indicates a frequency location of a CSI-RS to bemeasured or a reference frequency that serves to locate where the CSI-RSis located in a Physical Resource Block (PRB) grid. In some otherembodiments, the frequency information contained in the measurementobject is an absolute frequency of SSB to be used for measurements madein accordance with the measurement object, and the frequency informationprovided in the serving cell configuration of the serving cell is anabsolute frequency of SSB to be used for the serving cell.

In some embodiments, the UE is configured, by the wireless communicationnetwork, with one or more measurement objects. Each measurement objectof the one or more measurement objects comprises parameters that enablethe UE to perform cell quality derivation. Further, the UE is configuredwith measurement events each having a corresponding measurementidentifier, where each measurement identifier links one of the one ormore measurement objects to a respective reporting configuration. Themeasurement object from which the parameters perform cell qualityderivation for the serving cell is obtained by the UE is a particularmeasurement object from among the one or more measurement objects.

Embodiments of a UE for performing cell quality derivation in a wirelesscommunication network are also disclosed. In some embodiments, a UE forperforming cell quality derivation in a wireless communication networkis adapted to obtain parameters to perform cell quality derivation for aserving cell of the UE from a measurement object that contains frequencyinformation that matches frequency information provided in a servingcell configuration of the serving cell. The UE is further adapted toperform cell quality derivation for the serving cell based on theobtained parameters.

In some embodiments, a UE for performing cell quality derivation in awireless communication network comprises an interface comprising radiofront end circuitry and processing circuitry associated with theinterface. The processing circuitry is configured to cause the UE toobtain parameters to perform cell quality derivation for a serving cellof the UE from a measurement object that contains frequency informationthat matches frequency information provided in a serving cellconfiguration of the serving cell and perform cell quality derivationfor the serving cell based on the obtained parameters.

In some embodiments, the UE is configured, by the wireless communicationnetwork, with one or more measurement objects, and the measurementobject from which the parameters perform cell quality derivation for theserving cell are obtained by the UE is a particular measurement objectfrom among the one or more measurement objects.

In some embodiments, the frequency information is information thatindicates a frequency location of SSB to be measured or to be used as asynchronization source for CSI-RS resources. In some other embodiments,the frequency information is information that indicates a frequencylocation of a CSI-RS to be measured or a reference frequency that servesto locate where the CSI-RS is located in a PRB grid. In some otherembodiments, the frequency information contained in the measurementobject is an absolute frequency of SSB to be used for measurements madein accordance with the measurement object, and the frequency informationprovided in the serving cell configuration of the serving cell is anabsolute frequency of SSB to be used for the serving cell.

In some embodiments, the UE is configured, by the wireless communicationnetwork, with one or more measurement objects, wherein each measurementobject of the one or more measurement objects comprises parameters thatenable the UE to perform cell quality derivation. Further, the UE isconfigured with measurement events each having a correspondingmeasurement identifier, where each measurement identifier links one ofthe one or more measurement objects to a respective reportingconfiguration. The measurement object from which the parameters performcell quality derivation for the serving cell is obtained by the UE is aparticular measurement object from among the one or more measurementobjects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part ofthis specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of thedisclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates one example of hybrid beamforming;

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate two examples of beam sweeping;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example configuration of Synchronization Signal(SS) blocks, SS bursts, and SS burst sets or series;

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an example mapping for SS blocks within atime slot and within the 5 millisecond (ms) window;

FIG. 5 illustrates a measurement model for Third Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP) New Radio (NR);

FIG. 6 illustrates the operation of a User Equipment (UE) and a networknode in accordance with at least some aspects of an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates different scenarios for serving cell measurementobject identification;

FIG. 8 illustrates wireless network in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 9 illustrates a UE in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 10 illustrates a virtualization environment in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 11 illustrates a telecommunication network connected via anintermediate network to a host computer in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 12 illustrates a host computer communicating via a base stationwith a UE over a partially wireless connection in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 13 illustrates methods implemented in a communication systemincluding a host computer, a base station, and a UE in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 14 illustrates methods implemented in a communication systemincluding a host computer, a base station, and a UE in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 15 illustrates methods implemented in a communication systemincluding a host computer, a base station, and a UE in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 16 illustrates methods implemented in a communication systemincluding a host computer, a base station, and a UE in accordance withsome embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable thoseskilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the bestmode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the followingdescription in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilledin the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and willrecognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressedherein. It should be understood that these concepts and applicationsfall within the scope of the disclosure.

Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according totheir ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless adifferent meaning is clearly given and/or is implied from the context inwhich it is used. All references to a/an/the element, apparatus,component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referringto at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means,step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methodsdisclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact orderdisclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following orpreceding another step and/or where it is implicit that a step mustfollow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodimentsdisclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, whereverappropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may applyto any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features,and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from thefollowing description.

Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described morefully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments,however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosedherein, the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limitedto only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments areprovided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter tothose skilled in the art.

The term “signaling” used herein may comprise any of: high-layersignaling (e.g., via Radio Resource Control (RRC) or the like),lower-layer signaling (e.g., via a physical control channel or abroadcast channel), or a combination thereof. The signaling may beimplicit or explicit. The signaling may further be unicast, multicast,or broadcast. The signaling may also be directly to another node or viaa third node.

In the context of the following embodiments, the term “parameters toperform Cell Quality Derivation (CQD)” will be constantly used. Althoughwe have used this term, the parameters are not only about that and, in amore general sense, they could be said to be influencing eventtriggering or even influencing information to be reported. The commonaspect is that they are within the measObjectNR and there is anambiguity to which measObjectNR the User Equipment (UE) selects toobtain these parameters for a given measld. These can be considered anyof the following parameters or a combination of them:

-   -   Cell lists (black cells, white cells);    -   Reference signal configuration including:        -   SS/PBCH Block Measurement Time Configuration (SMTC)            configuration(s);        -   Nominal Synchronization Signal (SS)/Physical Broadcast            Channel (PBCH) Blocks (SSBs) to measure;        -   SSB and/or Channel State Information Reference Signal            (CSI-RS) subcarrier spacing(s);    -   Filtering configurations;    -   Frequency/cell specific offsets;    -   Threshold defining good beams to be reported (covered explicitly        in ‘Embodiments related to ambiguity solving in beam reporting’        sub-section below);    -   Threshold defining good beams to be averaged with the best beam.

Before describing embodiments of the present disclosure, a descriptionof certain currently existing challenges is beneficial. As discussedabove, in Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR),parameters enabling the UE to compute CQD are provided as part of themeasObject. However, the UE is typically configured by the network withmany measurement objects, and the current procedures in the 3GPP NR RRCspecifications are ambiguous in some scenarios so that it is not clearto the UE which measObject to use to perform CQD. Below, theseambiguities are analyzed for serving cell(s) and neighbor cell(s).

The UE knows what kind of serving cell measurement to perform asdescribed in section 5.5.3.1 of Technical Specification (TS) 38.331:

********************************************************************************************************************The UE shall:   1>whenever the UE has a measConfig, perform RSRP and RSRQ measurements for each serving cell as follows:2>if at least one measId included in the measIdList within VarMeasConfig contains an rsType set to ssb:3>if at least one measId included in the measIdList within VarMeasConfig contains areportQuantityRsIndexes: 4>derive layer 3 filtered RSRP and RSRQ per beam for the serving cell based on SS/PBCH block, asdescribed in 5.5.3.3a; 3>derive serving cell measurement results based on SS/PBCH block, as described in 5.5.3.3;2>if at least one measId included in the measIdList within VarMeasConfig contains an rsType set to csi-rs:3>if at least one measId included in the measIdList within VarMeasConfig contains areportQuantityRsIndexes: 4>derive layer 3 filtered RSRP and RSRQ per beam for the serving cell based on CSI-RS, as described in5.5.3.3a; 3>derive serving cell measurement results based on CSI-RS, as described in 5.5.3.3;1>if at least one measId included in the measIdList within VarMeasConfig contains SINR as trigger quantity and/orreporting quantity: 2>if the associated reportConfig contains rsType set to ssb: 3>if the measId contains a reportQuantityRsIndexes: 4>derive layer 3 filtered SINR per beam for the serving cell based on SS/PBCH block, as described in5.5.3.3a; 3>derive serving cell SINR based on SS/PBCH block, as described in 5.5.3.3;2> if the associated reportConfig contains rsType set to csi-rs: 3>if the measId contains a reportQuantityRsIndexes: 4>derive layer 3 filtered SINR per beam for the serving cell based on CSI-RS, as described in 5.5.3.3a;3> derive serving cell SINR based on CSI-RS, as described in 5.5.3.3:********************************************************************************************************************

Notice that in the abovementioned part of the text, there is nothingdescribing which measObjectNR the UE should select to obtain theparameters to perform CQD (out of the measObjectNR(s) the UE has beenconfigured with). Then, in section 5.5.3.3 of TS 38.331, the followingdetails on how the CQD shall be performed are provided:

********************************************************************************************************************The network may configure the UE to perform RSRP, RSRQ and SINR measurement results per cell associated to NRcarrier frequencies based on parameters configured in the measObject (e.g. maximum number of beams to be averagedand beam consolidation thresholds) and in the reportConfig (rsType to be measured, SS/PBCH block or CSI-RS).The UE shall: 1>for each cell measurement quantity to be derived based on SS/PBCH block:2>if nrofSS-BlocksToAverage in the associated measObject is not configured; or2>if absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation in the associated measObject is not configured; or2>if the highest beam measurement quantity value is below absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation:3>derive each cell measurement quantity based on SS/PBCH block as the highest beam measurementquantity value, where each beam measurement quantity is described in TS 38.215 [9];2> else: 3>derive each cell measurement quantity based on SS/PBCH block as the linear average of the power valuesof the highest beam measurement quantity values above absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation where the totalnumber of averaged beams shall not exceed nrofSS-BlocksToAverage; 1>for each cell measurement quantity to be derived based on CSI-RS: 2>consider a CSI-RS resource on the associated frequency to be applicable for deriving RSRP when theconcerned CSI-RS resource is included in the csi-rs-ResourceConfigMobility with the corresponding cellIdand CSI-RS-ResourceId-RRM within the VarMeasConfig for this measId; 2>if nrofCSI-RS-ResourcesToAverage in the associated measObject is not configured; or2>if absThreshCSI-RS-Consolidation in the associated measObject is not configured; or2>if the highest beam measurement quantity value is below absThreshCSI-RS-Consolidation.3>derive each cell measurement quantity based on CSI-RS as the highest be a measurement quantity value,where each beam measurement quantity is described in TS 38.215 [9]; 2>else: 3>derive each cell measurement quantity based on CSI-RS as the linear average of the power values of thehighest beam measurement quantity values above absThreshCSI-RS-Consolidation where the total numberof averaged beams shall not exceed nroCSI-RS-ResourcesToAverage;

In the text above, one can see some attempt to describe whichmeasurement object the UE shall select to then obtain the correctparameters to perform CQD. However, although the text says parametersconfigured in the measObject, it is still not clear which measObject, asreproduced once more below:

-   “cell associated to NR carrier frequencies based on parameters    configured in the measObject (e.g. maximum number of beams to be    averaged and beam consolidation thresholds) and in the reportConfig    (rsType to be measured, SS/PBCH block or CSI-RS).”

And in the procedure, the phrase “in the associated measObject” appears,although, once more it is not clear what this association could reallymean, for example as reproduced below:

2> if absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation in the associated measObject isnot configured; or 2> if the highest beam measurement quantity value isbelow absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation: 3> derive each cell measurementquantity based on SS/PBCH block as the highest beam measurement quantityvalue, where each beam measurement quantity is described in TS 38.215[9];

One could try to argue that it is not extremely difficult to derive orguess that the association as the measObjectNR to use the one associatedto the carrier that cell belongs to. In Long Term Evolution (LTE), thatwould be true, as the measObject has an Absolute Radio Frequency ChannelNumber (ARFCN) parameter called carrierFreq. Hence, there is a one toone relation between measurement object and carrier frequency. Hence, toperform CQD of a cell transmitted in a given carrier frequency in LTE,the UE shall obtain parameters at the measurement object associated tothat carrier frequency. However, in NR, there are two primary issues:

-   1. The relation between measurement object and carrier is much more    blurred compared to LTE. In NR, the UE does not obtain, in the    measObject, details about the carrier frequency in which it has to    measure. Instead, the UE gets, in the measurement object, the    frequency location of reference signal(s), SS/PBCH block, and    possibly CSI-RS resources, that the UE shall measure. In fact, there    could be carriers without SS/PBCH block and with CSI-RS that    contains an SSB frequency location.-   2. There are some of the measurement events that are triggered based    on the comparison of the quality of two cells possibly from two    different frequencies, while a single measurement object is linked    to the measld and reportConfig, such as events:    -   A1: Serving becomes better than threshold    -   A2: Serving becomes worse than threshold    -   A3: Neighbor becomes offset better than Primary Cell        (PCell)/Primary Secondary Cell (PSCell)    -   A4: Neighbor becomes better than threshold    -   A5: PCell/PSCell becomes worse than threshold1 and neighbor        becomes better than threshold2    -   A6: Neighbor becomes offset better than Secondary Cell (SCell)

Out of these six events, at least three events (A3, A5, and A6) maypotentially involve measurements performed in two different frequencies,although a single measObjectNR will be linked to the reportConfig viathe measld. Hence, especially in the case of these three events, itbecomes very unclear from which measObjectNR the UE shall obtain the CQDparameters and, in the case of events comparing the quality of twocells, whether these parameters shall be the same or different for thetwo cells/two frequencies being compared.

Notice that this problem is particularly more relevant for the servingcell measurements and in the case two frequencies are used for the sameevent, such as in A3, A5, and A6 events, or any event defined in thefuture that make comparisons between cell qualities in two differentfrequencies. However, even for the other events (A1, A2, and A4) someother consistency issues could exist and may represent an ambiguityproblem.

Notice that, for the neighbor cell, the ambiguity may also exist as itis not clear what is meant by the “measObject is associated to NR”and/or whether that rule is applicable for both neighbor and servingcell measurements in the case of events A3, A5, and A6, as described in5.5.3.1:

***************************************************************************************************1> for each measId included in the measIdList within VarMeasConfig: 2>if the reportType for the associated reportConfig is not set to reportCGI:3> if a measurement gap configuration is setup, or 3>if the UE does not require measurement gaps to perform the concerned measurements:4> if s-MeasureConfig is not configured, or 4>if s-MeasureConfig is set to ssb-RSRP and the PCell (or PSCell when the UE is in EN-DC) RSRPbased on SS/PBCH block, after layer 3 filtering, is lower than ssb-RSRP, or4>if s-MeasureConfig is set to csi-RSRP and the PCell (or PSCell when the UE is in EN-DC) RSRP basedon CSI-RS, after layer 3 filtering, is lower than csi-RSRP: 5>if the measObject is associated to NR and the rsType is set tocsi-rs: 6>if reportQuantityRsIndexes for the associated reportConfig is configured:7>derive layer 3 filtered beam measurements only based on CSI-RS for each measurementquantity indicated in reportQuantityRsIndexes, as described in 5.5.3.3a;6>derive cell measurement results based on CSI-RS for each trigger quantity and eachmeasurement quantity indicated in reportQuantityCell using parameters from the associatedmeasObject, as described in 5.5.3.3; 5>if the measObject is associated to NR and the rsType is set to ssb: 6>if reportQuantityRsIndexes for the associated reportConfig is configured:7>derive layer 3 beam measurements only based on SS/PBCH block for each measurementquantity indicated in reportQuantityRsIndexes, as described in 5.5.3.3a;6>derive cell measurement results based on SS/PBCH block for each trigger quantity and eachmeasurement quantity indicated in reportQuantityCell using parameters from the associated5> if the measObject is associated to E-UTRA: 6>perform the corresponding measurements associated to neighbouring cells on the frequenciesindicated in the concerned measObject; 2>perform the evaluation of reporting criteria as specified in 5.5.4.***************************************************************************************************

Yet another ambiguity relates to which measObjectNR to consider when theUE needs to include beam measurement information in measurement reports,as that can be on serving cell(s) and neighbor cells(s) where each onemay have its own set of measObjectNR parameters.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments mayprovide solutions to these or other challenges. Embodiments aredisclosed herein for enabling a UE to obtain parameters for performingCQD from a correct measurement object (measObject). In some embodiments,this disclosure describes a method performed by a UE being configured bythe network with one or more measurement objects, where each measurementobject contains parameters enabling the UE to perform CQD; the same UEbeing configured with measurement events each having a measurementidentifier measid where each measid links one measObject to onereportConfig (where each event in event triggered measurement reporting,e.g., A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6), the method comprising the UE selectingthe correct measObject from which the UE obtains the CQD parameters or,in a more general sense, measObject related parameters, as these are notonly used for CQD but some are also used for selecting information toinclude in measurement reports.

There are, proposed herein, various embodiments which address one ormore of the issues disclosed herein. Certain embodiments may provide oneor more of the following technical advantages. The embodiments disclosedherein solve the ambiguity in the current NR specifications where, inmany network configurations, the UE could not figure out whichmeasObject to select and, consequently, which CQD parameters to beobtained. Solving this problem can prevent problems for the network suchas different UEs with the same configuration being provided behavingdifferently in terms of event triggering due to the different ways cellquality has been derived. Additional advantages may be readily apparentin light of the following description, and certain embodiments mayprovide some, none, or all of these technical advantages.

First Embodiment

In a first embodiment, the UE obtains the parameters to perform CQD forserving cell(s) from the measObject containing the frequency informationthat matches the frequency information provided in the serving cellconfiguration (e.g., serving cell configuration is provided to the UEduring SCell addition and/or handovers).

FIG. 6 illustrates the operation of a UE and a network node (e.g., NRbase station (gNB)) in accordance with at least some aspects of thefirst embodiment described herein. Optional steps are represented withdashed lines. As illustrated, the network node provides multiplemeasurement objects to the UE (step 600). In other words, the networknode configures the UE with multiple measurement objects. The UE obtainsparameters to perform CQD for a serving cell(s) of the UE from ameasurement object that contains frequency information that matchesfrequency information provided in a serving cell configuration of theserving cell (step 602). Multiple examples of the types of frequencyinformation in the measurement objects and the serving cellconfiguration that can be used for determining a match are providedbelow. Further, various examples of the obtained parameters aredescribed herein. Some examples include, but are not limited to, themaximum number of beams to be averaged and the absolute threshold perreference signal type. Optionally, the UE performs CQD for the servingcell based on the obtained parameters (step 604). Note that the detailsof CQD are described above and are known to those of skill in the artand, as such, are not repeated here. The UE optionally reports a resultof the CQD to the network node (step 606).

In this context, a first option for the frequency information can be thefrequency location of the SSB to be measured or to be used only as syncsource for CSI-RS resources. That SSB frequency location can be the syncraster Global Synchronization Channel Number (GSCN) provided both in themeasurement object and in the serving cell configuration.

In this context, a second option frequency information can be thefrequency location of the CSI-RS to be measured or a reference frequencythat serves to locate where the CSI-RS in a Physical Resource Block(PRB) grid, possibly within a carrier. That frequency information can beencoded as the nominal frequency location of the so-called point A,encoded with the channel raster ARFCN, provided both in the measurementobject and in the serving cell configuration.

In this context, a third option frequency information can be both thefrequency location of the SSB and frequency location of the CSI-RS to bemeasured (or a reference frequency that serves to locate where theCSI-RS in a PRB grid, possibly within a carrier). As in the previousoptions, the matching of both parameters indicates to the UE whichmeasObject to select to obtain parameters to perform CQD.

Parameters to be compared in measObjectNR and servingCellConfigCommon(in particular the FrequencyInfoDL that contains the exact parameters tobe compared) are highlighted with bold, underlined text below:

Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in anyappropriate type of system using any suitable components, theembodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to a wirelessnetwork, such as the example wireless network illustrated in FIG. 8. Forsimplicity, the wireless network of FIG. 8 only depicts network 806,network nodes 860 and 860 b, and WDs 810, 810 b, and 810 c. In practice,a wireless network may further include any additional elements suitableto support communication between wireless devices or between a wirelessdevice and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, aservice provider, or any other network node or end device. Of theillustrated components, network node 860 and Wireless Device (WD) 810are depicted with additional detail. The wireless network may providecommunication and other types of services to one or more wirelessdevices to facilitate the wireless devices' access to and/or use of theservices provided by, or via, the wireless network.

The wireless network may comprise and/or interface with any type ofcommunication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio networkor other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wirelessnetwork may be configured to operate according to specific standards orother types of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particularembodiments of the wireless network may implement communicationstandards, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM),Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), LTE, and/or othersuitable Second, Third, Fourth, or Fifth Generation (2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G)standards; Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as theIEEE 802.11 standards; and/or any other appropriate wirelesscommunication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, and/or ZigBee standards.

Network 806 may comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks,IP networks, Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTNs), packet datanetworks, optical networks, Wide Area Networks (WANs), Local AreaNetworks (LANs), WLANs, wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitanarea networks, and other networks to enable communication betweendevices.

Network node 860 and WD 810 comprise various components described inmore detail below. These components work together in order to providenetwork node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providingwireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments,the wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wirelessnetworks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices,relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that mayfacilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signalswhether via wired or wireless connections.

As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured,arranged, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with awireless device and/or with other network nodes or equipment in thewireless network to enable and/or provide wireless access to thewireless device and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration)in the wireless network. Examples of network nodes include, but are notlimited to, Access Points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), BaseStations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, and evolved Node Bs(eNBs)). Base stations may be categorized based on the amount ofcoverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit powerlevel) and may then also be referred to as femto base stations, picobase stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A basestation may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. Anetwork node may also include one or more (or all) parts of adistributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/orRemote Radio Units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads(RRHs). Such RRUs may or may not be integrated with an antenna as anantenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station mayalso be referred to as nodes in a Distributed Antenna System (DAS). Yetfurther examples of network nodes include Multi-Standard Radio (MSR)equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as Radio NetworkControllers (RNCs) or Base Station Controllers (BSCs), Base TransceiverStations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes,Multi-Cell/Multicast Coordination Entities (MCEs), core network nodes(e.g., Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs), Mobility Management Entities(MMEs)), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations SupportSystem (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioningnodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and/orMinimization of Drive Tests (MDTs). As another example, a network nodemay be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. Moregenerally, however, network nodes may represent any suitable device (orgroup of devices) capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable toenable and/or provide a wireless device with access to the wirelessnetwork or to provide some service to a wireless device that hasaccessed the wireless network.

In FIG. 8, network node 860 includes processing circuitry 870, devicereadable medium 880, interface 890, auxiliary equipment 884, powersource 886, power circuitry 887, and antenna 862. Although network node860 illustrated in the example wireless network of FIG. 8 may representa device that includes the illustrated combination of hardwarecomponents, other embodiments may comprise network nodes with differentcombinations of components. It is to be understood that a network nodecomprises any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed toperform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein.Moreover, while the components of network node 860 are depicted assingle boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multipleboxes, in practice, a network node may comprise multiple differentphysical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g.,device readable medium 880 may comprise multiple separate hard drives aswell as multiple Random Access Memory (RAM) modules).

Similarly, network node 860 may be composed of multiple physicallyseparate components (e.g., a Node B component and a RNC component, or aBTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their ownrespective components. In certain scenarios in which network node 860comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components),one or more of the separate components may be shared among severalnetwork nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple Node Bs.In such a scenario, each unique Node B and RNC pair may in someinstances be considered a single separate network node. In someembodiments, network node 860 may be configured to support multipleRadio Access Technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some componentsmay be duplicated (e.g., separate device readable medium 880 for thedifferent RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the sameantenna 862 may be shared by the RATs). Network node 860 may alsoinclude multiple sets of the various illustrated components fordifferent wireless technologies integrated into network node 860, suchas, for example, GSM, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA),LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wirelesstechnologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set ofchips and other components within network node 860.

Processing circuitry 870 is configured to perform any determining,calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations)described herein as being provided by a network node. These operationsperformed by processing circuitry 870 may include processing informationobtained by processing circuitry 870 by, for example, converting theobtained information into other information, comparing the obtainedinformation or converted information to information stored in thenetwork node, and/or performing one or more operations based on theobtained information or converted information, and as a result of saidprocessing making a determination.

Processing circuitry 870 may comprise a combination of one or more of amicroprocessor, controller, microcontroller, Central Processing Unit(CPU), Digital Signal Processor (DSP), Application Specific IntegratedCircuit (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or any othersuitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware,software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or inconjunction with other network node 860 components, such as devicereadable medium 880, network node 860 functionality. For example,processing circuitry 870 may execute instructions stored in devicereadable medium 880 or in memory within processing circuitry 870. Suchfunctionality may include providing any of the various wirelessfeatures, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments,processing circuitry 870 may include a System on a Chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, processing circuitry 870 may include one or more ofRadio Frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 872 and baseband processingcircuitry 874. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 872 andbaseband processing circuitry 874 may be on separate chips (or sets ofchips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. Inalternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 872 andbaseband processing circuitry 874 may be on the same chip or set ofchips, boards, or units

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality describedherein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB or othersuch network device may be performed by processing circuitry 870executing instructions stored on device readable medium 880 or memorywithin processing circuitry 870. In alternative embodiments, some or allof the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 870 withoutexecuting instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readablemedium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those embodiments,whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storagemedium or not, processing circuitry 870 can be configured to perform thedescribed functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality arenot limited to processing circuitry 870 alone or to other components ofnetwork node 860, but are enjoyed by network node 860 as a whole, and/orby end users and the wireless network generally.

Device readable medium 880 may comprise any form of volatile ornon-volatile computer readable memory including, without limitation,persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory,magnetic media, optical media, RAM, Read Only Memory (ROM), mass storagemedia (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example,a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)),and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory devicereadable and/or computer-executable memory devices that storeinformation, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processingcircuitry 870. Device readable medium 880 may store any suitableinstructions, data or information, including a computer program,software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code,tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed byprocessing circuitry 870 and, utilized by network node 860. Devicereadable medium 880 may be used to store any calculations made byprocessing circuitry 870 and/or any data received via interface 890. Insome embodiments, processing circuitry 870 and device readable medium880 may be considered to be integrated.

Interface 890 is used in the wired or wireless communication ofsignaling and/or data between network node 860, network 806, and/or WDs810. As illustrated, interface 890 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 894 tosend and receive data, for example to and from network 806 over a wiredconnection. Interface 890 also includes radio front end circuitry 892that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna862. Radio front end circuitry 892 comprises filters 898 and amplifiers896. Radio front end circuitry 892 may be connected to antenna 862 andprocessing circuitry 870. Radio front end circuitry may be configured tocondition signals communicated between antenna 862 and processingcircuitry 870. Radio front end circuitry 892 may receive digital datathat is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wirelessconnection. Radio front end circuitry 892 may convert the digital datainto a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidthparameters using a combination of filters 898 and/or amplifiers 896. Theradio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 862. Similarly, whenreceiving data, antenna 862 may collect radio signals which are thenconverted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 892. Thedigital data may be passed to processing circuitry 870. In otherembodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/ordifferent combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, network node 860 may not includeseparate radio front end circuitry 892; instead, processing circuitry870 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected toantenna 862 without separate radio front end circuitry 892. Similarly,in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 872 may beconsidered a part of interface 890. In still other embodiments,interface 890 may include one or more ports or terminals 894, radiofront end circuitry 892, and RF transceiver circuitry 872, as part of aradio unit (not shown), and interface 890 may communicate with basebandprocessing circuitry 874, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

Antenna 862 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays,configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna 862 may becoupled to radio front end circuitry 890 and may be any type of antennacapable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. Insome embodiments, antenna 862 may comprise one or more omni-directional,sector or panel antennas operable to transmit/receive radio signalsbetween, for example, 2 gigahertz (GHz) and 66 GHz. An omni-directionalantenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction,a sector antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals fromdevices within a particular area, and a panel antenna may be a line ofsight antenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relativelystraight line. In some instances, the use of more than one antenna maybe referred to as Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO). In certainembodiments, antenna 862 may be separate from network node 860 and maybe connectable to network node 860 through an interface or port.

Antenna 862, interface 890, and/or processing circuitry 870 may beconfigured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtainingoperations described herein as being performed by a network node. Anyinformation, data, and/or signals may be received from a wirelessdevice, another network node, and/or any other network equipment.Similarly, antenna 862, interface 890, and/or processing circuitry 870may be configured to perform any transmitting operations describedherein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data,and/or signals may be transmitted to a wireless device, another networknode, and/or any other network equipment.

Power circuitry 887 may comprise, or be coupled to, power managementcircuitry and is configured to supply the components of network node 860with power for performing the functionality described herein. Powercircuitry 887 may receive power from power source 886. Power source 886and/or power circuitry 887 may be configured to provide power to thevarious components of network node 860 in a form suitable for therespective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed foreach respective component). Power source 886 may either be included in,or external to, power circuitry 887 and/or network node 860. Forexample, network node 860 may be connectable to an external power source(e.g., an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface suchas an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies powerto power circuitry 887. As a further example, power source 886 maycomprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery packwhich is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry 887. Thebattery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also beused.

Alternative embodiments of network node 860 may include additionalcomponents beyond those shown in FIG. 8 that may be responsible forproviding certain aspects of the network node's functionality, includingany of the functionality described herein and/or any functionalitynecessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example,network node 860 may include user interface equipment to allow input ofinformation into network node 860 and to allow output of informationfrom network node 860. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic,maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node860.

As used herein, WD refers to a device capable, configured, arranged,and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/orother wireless devices. Unless otherwise noted, the term WD may be usedinterchangeably herein with UE. Communicating wirelessly may involvetransmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagneticwaves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signalssuitable for conveying information through air. In some embodiments, aWD may be configured to transmit and/or receive information withoutdirect human interaction. For instance, a WD may be designed to transmitinformation to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered byan internal or external event, or in response to requests from thenetwork. Examples of a WD include, but are not limited to, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a Voice over Internet Protocol (IP)(VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a desktop computer, aPersonal Digital Assistant (PDA), a wireless cameras, a gaming consoleor device, a music storage device, a playback appliance, a wearableterminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a tablet, alaptop, Laptop Embedded Equipment (LEE), Laptop Mounted Equipment (LME),a smart device, a wireless Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), avehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, etc. A WD may supportDevice-to-Device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPPstandard for sidelink communication, and may in this case be referred toas a D2D communication device. As yet another specific example, in anInternet of Things (IoT) scenario, a WD may represent a machine or otherdevice that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits theresults of such monitoring and/or measurements to another WD and/or anetwork node. The WD may in this case be a Machine-to-Machine (M2M)device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as a Machine TypeCommunication (MTC) device. As one particular example, the WD may be aUE implementing the 3GPP Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) standard. Particularexamples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices suchas power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances(e.g., refrigerators, televisions, etc.) personal wearables (e.g.,watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, a WD may representa vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/orreporting on its operational status or other functions associated withits operation. A WD as described above may represent the endpoint of awireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as awireless terminal. Furthermore, a WD as described above may be mobile,in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobileterminal.

As illustrated, wireless device 810 includes antenna 811, interface 814,processing circuitry 820, device readable medium 830, user interfaceequipment 832, auxiliary equipment 834, power source 836, and powercircuitry 837. WD 810 may include multiple sets of one or more of theillustrated components for different wireless technologies supported byWD 810, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, orBluetooth wireless technologies, just to mention a few. These wirelesstechnologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or setof chips as other components within WD 810.

Antenna 811 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays,configured to send and/or receive wireless signals, and is connected tointerface 814. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna 811 may beseparate from WD 810 and be connectable to WD 810 through an interfaceor port. Antenna 811, interface 814, and/or processing circuitry 820 maybe configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operationsdescribed herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, data,and/or signals may be received from a network node and/or another WD. Insome embodiments, radio front end circuitry and/or antenna 811 may beconsidered an interface.

As illustrated, interface 814 comprises radio front end circuitry 812and antenna 811. Radio front end circuitry 812 comprises one or morefilters 818 and amplifiers 816. Radio front end circuitry 814 isconnected to antenna 811 and processing circuitry 820, and is configuredto condition signals communicated between antenna 811 and processingcircuitry 820. Radio front end circuitry 812 may be coupled to or a partof antenna 811. In some embodiments, WD 810 may not include separateradio front end circuitry 812; rather, processing circuitry 820 maycomprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 811.Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry822 may be considered a part of interface 814. Radio front end circuitry812 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other networknodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 812may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriatechannel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 818and/or amplifiers 816. The radio signal may then be transmitted viaantenna 811. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 811 may collectradio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio frontend circuitry 812. The digital data may be passed to processingcircuitry 820. In other embodiments, the interface may comprisedifferent components and/or different combinations of components.

Processing circuitry 820 may comprise a combination of one or more of amicroprocessor, controller, microcontroller, CPU, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, orany other suitable computing device, resource, or combination ofhardware, software, and/or encoded logic operable to provide, eitheralone or in conjunction with other WD 810 components, such as devicereadable medium 830, WD 810 functionality. Such functionality mayinclude providing any of the various wireless features or benefitsdiscussed herein. For example, processing circuitry 820 may executeinstructions stored in device readable medium 830 or in memory withinprocessing circuitry 820 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

As illustrated, processing circuitry 820 includes one or more of RFtransceiver circuitry 822, baseband processing circuitry 824, andapplication processing circuitry 826. In other embodiments, theprocessing circuitry may comprise different components and/or differentcombinations of components. In certain embodiments processing circuitry820 of WD 810 may comprise a SOC. In some embodiments, RF transceivercircuitry 822, baseband processing circuitry 824, and applicationprocessing circuitry 826 may be on separate chips or sets of chips. Inalternative embodiments, part or all of baseband processing circuitry824 and application processing circuitry 826 may be combined into onechip or set of chips, and RF transceiver circuitry 822 may be on aseparate chip or set of chips. In still alternative embodiments, part orall of RF transceiver circuitry 822 and baseband processing circuitry824 may be on the same chip or set of chips, and application processingcircuitry 826 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In yet otheralternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 822,baseband processing circuitry 824, and application processing circuitry826 may be combined in the same chip or set of chips. In someembodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 822 may be a part of interface814. RF transceiver circuitry 822 may condition RF signals forprocessing circuitry 820.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality describedherein as being performed by a WD may be provided by processingcircuitry 820 executing instructions stored on device readable medium830, which in certain embodiments may be a computer-readable storagemedium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality maybe provided by processing circuitry 820 without executing instructionsstored on a separate or discrete device readable storage medium, such asin a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whetherexecuting instructions stored on a device readable storage medium ornot, processing circuitry 820 can be configured to perform the describedfunctionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are notlimited to processing circuitry 820 alone or to other components of WD810, but are enjoyed by WD 810 as a whole, and/or by end users and thewireless network generally.

Processing circuitry 820 may be configured to perform any determining,calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations)described herein as being performed by a WD. These operations, asperformed by processing circuitry 820, may include processinginformation obtained by processing circuitry 820 by, for example,converting the obtained information into other information, comparingthe obtained information or converted information to information storedby WD 810, and/or performing one or more operations based on theobtained information or converted information, and as a result of saidprocessing making a determination.

Device readable medium 830 may be operable to store a computer program,software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code,tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed byprocessing circuitry 820. Device readable medium 830 may includecomputer memory (e.g., RAM or ROM), mass storage media (e.g., a harddisk), removable storage media (e.g., a CD or a DVD), and/or any othervolatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computerexecutable memory devices that store information, data, and/orinstructions that may be used by processing circuitry 820. In someembodiments, processing circuitry 820 and device readable medium 830 maybe considered to be integrated.

User interface equipment 832 may provide components that allow for ahuman user to interact with WD 810. Such interaction may be of manyforms, such as visual, audial, tactile, etc. User interface equipment832 may be operable to produce output to the user and to allow the userto provide input to WD 810. The type of interaction may vary dependingon the type of user interface equipment 832 installed in WD 810. Forexample, if WD 810 is a smart phone, the interaction may be via a touchscreen; if WD 810 is a smart meter, the interaction may be through ascreen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or aspeaker that provides an audible alert (e.g., if smoke is detected).User interface equipment 832 may include input interfaces, devices andcircuits, and output interfaces, devices and circuits. User interfaceequipment 832 is configured to allow input of information into WD 810,and is connected to processing circuitry 820 to allow processingcircuitry 820 to process the input information. User interface equipment832 may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor,keys/buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a Universal SerialBus (USB) port, or other input circuitry. User interface equipment 832is also configured to allow output of information from WD 810, and toallow processing circuitry 820 to output information from WD 810. Userinterface equipment 832 may include, for example, a speaker, a display,vibrating circuitry, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other outputcircuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, andcircuits, of user interface equipment 832, WD 810 may communicate withend users and/or the wireless network, and allow them to benefit fromthe functionality described herein.

Auxiliary equipment 834 is operable to provide more specificfunctionality which may not be generally performed by WDs. This maycomprise specialized sensors for doing measurements for variouspurposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wiredcommunications etc. The inclusion and type of components of auxiliaryequipment 834 may vary depending on the embodiment and/or scenario.

Power source 836 may, in some embodiments, be in the form of a batteryor battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external powersource (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic devices or powercells, may also be used. WD 810 may further comprise power circuitry 837for delivering power from power source 836 to the various parts of WD810 which need power from power source 836 to carry out anyfunctionality described or indicated herein. Power circuitry 837 may incertain embodiments comprise power management circuitry. Power circuitry837 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power froman external power source; in which case WD 810 may be connectable to theexternal power source (such as an electricity outlet) via inputcircuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Powercircuitry 837 may also in certain embodiments be operable to deliverpower from an external power source to power source 836. This may be,for example, for the charging of power source 836. Power circuitry 837may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to thepower from power source 836 to make the power suitable for therespective components of WD 810 to which power is supplied.

FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a UE in accordance with variousaspects described herein. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may notnecessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/oroperates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device thatis intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which maynot, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific humanuser. A UE may also comprise any UE identified by the 3GPP, including aNB-IoT UE that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, a humanuser. UE 900, as illustrated in FIG. 9, is one example of a WDconfigured for communication in accordance with one or morecommunication standards promulgated by the 3GPP, such as 3GPP's GSM,UMTS, LTE, and/or 5G standards. As mentioned previously, the term WD andUE may be used interchangeably. Accordingly, although FIG. 9 is a UE,the components discussed herein are equally applicable to a WD, andvice-versa.

In FIG. 9, UE 900 includes processing circuitry 901 that is operativelycoupled to input/output interface 905, RF interface 909, networkconnection interface 911, memory 915 including RAM 917, ROM 919, andstorage medium 921 or the like, communication subsystem 931, powersource 933, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof.Storage medium 921 includes operating system 923, application program925, and data 927. In other embodiments, storage medium 921 may includeother similar types of information. Certain UEs may utilize all of thecomponents shown in FIG. 9, or only a subset of the components. Thelevel of integration between the components may vary from one UE toanother UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of acomponent, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers,transmitters, receivers, etc.

In FIG. 9, processing circuitry 901 may be configured to processcomputer instructions and data. Processing circuitry 901 may beconfigured to implement any sequential state machine operative toexecute machine instructions stored as machine-readable computerprograms in the memory, such as one or more hardware-implemented statemachines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logictogether with appropriate firmware; one or more stored program,general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or DSP, togetherwith appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example,the processing circuitry 901 may include two CPUs. Data may beinformation in a form suitable for use by a computer.

In the depicted embodiment, input/output interface 905 may be configuredto provide a communication interface to an input device, output device,or input and output device. UE 900 may be configured to use an outputdevice via input/output interface 905. An output device may use the sametype of interface port as an input device. For example, a USB port maybe used to provide input to and output from UE 900. The output devicemay be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, aprinter, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, orany combination thereof. UE 900 may be configured to use an input devicevia input/output interface 905 to allow a user to capture informationinto UE 900. The input device may include a touch-sensitive orpresence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digitalvideo camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, atrackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard,and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive orresistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, forinstance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor,a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another likesensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device may bean accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and anoptical sensor.

In FIG. 9, RF interface 909 may be configured to provide a communicationinterface to RF components such as a transmitter, a receiver, and anantenna. Network connection interface 911 may be configured to provide acommunication interface to network 943 a. Network 943 a may encompasswired and/or wireless networks such as a LAN, a WAN, a computer network,a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like networkor any combination thereof. For example, network 943 a may comprise aWiFi network. Network connection interface 911 may be configured toinclude a receiver and a transmitter interface used to communicate withone or more other devices over a communication network according to oneor more communication protocols, such as Ethernet, Transmission ControlProtocol (TCP)/IP, Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), AsynchronousTransfer Mode (ATM), or the like. Network connection interface 911 mayimplement receiver and transmitter functionality appropriate to thecommunication network links (e.g., optical, electrical, and the like).The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuit components,software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

RAM 917 may be configured to interface via bus 902 to processingcircuitry 901 to provide storage or caching of data or computerinstructions during the execution of software programs such as theoperating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM 919 maybe configured to provide computer instructions or data to processingcircuitry 901. For example, ROM 919 may be configured to store invariantlow-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basicInput and Output (I/O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from akeyboard that are stored in a non-volatile memory. Storage medium 921may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, Programmable ROM(PROM), Erasable PROM (EPROM), Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), magneticdisks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, orflash drives. In one example, storage medium 921 may be configured toinclude operating system 923, application program 925 such as a webbrowser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application,and data file 927. Storage medium 921 may store, for use by UE 900, anyof a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operatingsystems.

Storage medium 921 may be configured to include a number of physicaldrive units, such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), floppydisk drive, flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive,thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, High-Density DVD (HD-DVD) opticaldisc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive,Holographic Digital Data Storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, externalmini-Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM), Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM),external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a SubscriberIdentity Module (SIM) or a Removable User Identity (RUIM) module, othermemory, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 921 may allow UE 900to access computer-executable instructions, application programs or thelike, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-loaddata, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as oneutilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied in storagemedium 921, which may comprise a device readable medium.

In FIG. 9, processing circuitry 901 may be configured to communicatewith network 943 b using communication subsystem 931. Network 943 a andnetwork 943 b may be the same network or networks or different networkor networks. Communication subsystem 931 may be configured to includeone or more transceivers used to communicate with network 943 b. Forexample, communication subsystem 931 may be configured to include one ormore transceivers used to communicate with one or more remotetransceivers of another device capable of wireless communication such asanother WD, UE, or base station of a Radio Access Network (RAN)according to one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE 802.8,Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UniversalTerrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), WiMax, or the like. Eachtransceiver may include transmitter 933 and/or receiver 935 to implementtransmitter or receiver functionality, respectively, appropriate to theRAN links (e.g., frequency allocations and the like). Further,transmitter 933 and receiver 935 of each transceiver may share circuitcomponents, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implementedseparately.

In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions ofcommunication subsystem 931 may include data communication, voicecommunication, multimedia communication, short-range communications suchas Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communicationsuch as the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine alocation, another like communication function, or any combinationthereof. For example, communication subsystem 931 may include cellularcommunication, WiFi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPScommunication. Network 943 b may encompass wired and/or wirelessnetworks such as a LAN, a WAN, a computer network, a wireless network, atelecommunications network, another like network or any combinationthereof. For example, network 943 b may be a cellular network, a WiFinetwork, and/or a near-field network. Power source 913 may be configuredto provide Alternating Current (AC) or Direct Current (DC) power tocomponents of UE 900.

The features, benefits, and/or functions described herein may beimplemented in one of the components of UE 900 or partitioned acrossmultiple components of UE 900. Further, the features, benefits, and/orfunctions described herein may be implemented in any combination ofhardware, software, or firmware. In one example, communication subsystem931 may be configured to include any of the components described herein.Further, processing circuitry 901 may be configured to communicate withany of such components over bus 902. In another example, any of suchcomponents may be represented by program instructions stored in memorythat when executed by processing circuitry 901 perform the correspondingfunctions described herein. In another example, the functionality of anyof such components may be partitioned between processing circuitry 901and communication subsystem 931. In another example, thenon-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may beimplemented in software or firmware and the computationally intensivefunctions may be implemented in hardware.

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualizationenvironment 1000 in which functions implemented by some embodiments maybe virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creatingvirtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may includevirtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networkingresources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to a node(e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) orto a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device or any other type ofcommunication device) or components thereof and relates to animplementation in which at least a portion of the functionality isimplemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or moreapplications, components, functions, virtual machines, or containersexecuting on one or more physical processing nodes in one or morenetworks).

In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein maybe implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtualmachines implemented in one or more virtual environments 1000 hosted byone or more of hardware nodes 1030. Further, in embodiments in which thevirtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radioconnectivity (e.g., a core network node), then the network node may beentirely virtualized.

The functions may be implemented by one or more applications 1020 (whichmay alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances,network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.)operative to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefitsof some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Applications 1020 are runin virtualization environment 1000 which provides hardware 1030comprising processing circuitry 1060 and memory 1090. Memory 1090contains instructions 1095 executable by processing circuitry 1060whereby application 1020 is operative to provide one or more of thefeatures, benefits, and/or functions disclosed herein.

Virtualization environment 1000, comprises general-purpose orspecial-purpose network hardware devices 1030 comprising a set of one ormore processors or processing circuitry 1060, which may be CommercialOff-the-Shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated ASICs, or any other type ofprocessing circuitry including digital or analog hardware components orspecial purpose processors. Each hardware device may comprise memory1090-1 which may be non-persistent memory for temporarily storinginstructions 1095 or software executed by processing circuitry 1060.Each hardware device may comprise one or more Network InterfaceControllers (NICs) 1070, also known as network interface cards, whichinclude physical network interface 1080. Each hardware device may alsoinclude non-transitory, persistent, machine-readable storage media1090-2 having stored therein software 1095 and/or instructionsexecutable by processing circuitry 1060. Software 1095 may include anytype of software including software for instantiating one or morevirtualization layers 1050 (also referred to as hypervisors), softwareto execute virtual machines 1040 as well as software allowing it toexecute functions, features and/or benefits described in relation withsome embodiments described herein.

Virtual machines 1040, comprise virtual processing, virtual memory,virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by acorresponding virtualization layer 1050 or hypervisor. Differentembodiments of the instance of virtual appliance 1020 may be implementedon one or more of virtual machines 1040, and the implementations may bemade in different ways.

During operation, processing circuitry 1060 executes software 1095 toinstantiate the hypervisor or virtualization layer 1050, which maysometimes be referred to as a Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM).Virtualization layer 1050 may present a virtual operating platform thatappears like networking hardware to virtual machine 1040.

As shown in FIG. 10, hardware 1030 may be a standalone network node withgeneric or specific components. Hardware 1030 may comprise antenna 10225and may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively,hardware 1030 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such asin a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and aremanaged via Management and Orchestration (MANO) 10100, which, amongothers, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1020.

Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to asNetwork Function Virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidatemany network equipment types onto industry standard high volume serverhardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be locatedin data centers, and CPE.

In the context of NFV, virtual machine 1040 may be a softwareimplementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they wereexecuting on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of virtualmachines 1040, and that part of hardware 1030 that executes that virtualmachine, be it hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and/orhardware shared by that virtual machine with others of the virtualmachines 1040, forms a separate Virtual Network Element (VNE).

Still in the context of NFV, Virtual Network Function (VNF) isresponsible for handling specific network functions that run in one ormore virtual machines 1040 on top of hardware networking infrastructure1030 and corresponds to application 1020 in FIG. 10.

In some embodiments, one or more radio units 10200 that each include oneor more transmitters 10220 and one or more receivers 10210 may becoupled to one or more antennas 10225. Radio units 10200 may communicatedirectly with hardware nodes 1030 via one or more appropriate networkinterfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components toprovide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio accessnode or a base station.

In some embodiments, some signaling can be effected with the use ofcontrol system 10230 which may alternatively be used for communicationbetween the hardware nodes 1030 and radio units 10200.

With reference to FIG. 11, in accordance with an embodiment, acommunication system includes telecommunication network 1110, such as a3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises access network 1111, such asa radio access network, and core network 1114. Access network 1111comprises a plurality of base stations 1112 a, 1112 b, 1112 c, such asNode Bs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, eachdefining a corresponding coverage area 1113 a, 1113 b, 1113 c. Each basestation 1112 a, 1112 b, 1112 c is connectable to core network 1114 overa wired or wireless connection 1115. A first UE 1191 located in coveragearea 1113 c is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, thecorresponding base station 1112 c. A second UE 1192 in coverage area1113 a is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 1112a. While a plurality of UEs 1191, 1192 are illustrated in this example,the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where asole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to thecorresponding base station 1112.

Telecommunication network 1110 is itself connected to host computer1130, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of astandalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server oras processing resources in a server farm. Host computer 1130 may beunder the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operatedby the service provider or on behalf of the service provider.Connections 1121 and 1122 between telecommunication network 1110 andhost computer 1130 may extend directly from core network 1114 to hostcomputer 1130 or may go via an optional intermediate network 1120.Intermediate network 1120 may be one of, or a combination of more thanone of, a public, private, or hosted network; intermediate network 1120,if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular,intermediate network 1120 may comprise two or more sub-networks (notshown).

The communication system of FIG. 11 as a whole enables connectivitybetween the connected UEs 1191, 1192 and host computer 1130. Theconnectivity may be described as an Over-the-Top (OTT) connection 1150.Host computer 1130 and the connected UEs 1191, 1192 are configured tocommunicate data and/or signaling via OTT connection 1150, using accessnetwork 1111, core network 1114, any intermediate network 1120 andpossible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. OTTconnection 1150 may be transparent in the sense that the participatingcommunication devices through which OTT connection 1150 passes areunaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example,base station 1112 may not or need not be informed about the past routingof an incoming downlink communication with data originating from hostcomputer 1130 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE1191. Similarly, base station 1112 need not be aware of the futurerouting of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE 1191towards the host computer 1130.

Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE,base station and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphswill now be described with reference to FIG. 12. In communication system1200, host computer 1210 comprises hardware 1215 including communicationinterface 1216 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wirelessconnection with an interface of a different communication device ofcommunication system 1200. Host computer 1210 further comprisesprocessing circuitry 1218, which may have storage and/or processingcapabilities. In particular, processing circuitry 1218 may comprise oneor more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these(not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Host computer 1210 furthercomprises software 1211, which is stored in or accessible by hostcomputer 1210 and executable by processing circuitry 1218. Software 1211includes host application 1212. Host application 1212 may be operable toprovide a service to a remote user, such as UE 1230 connecting via OTTconnection 1250 terminating at UE 1230 and host computer 1210. Inproviding the service to the remote user, host application 1212 mayprovide user data which is transmitted using OTT connection 1250.

Communication system 1200 further includes base station 1220 provided ina telecommunication system and comprising hardware 1225 enabling it tocommunicate with host computer 1210 and with UE 1230. Hardware 1225 mayinclude communication interface 1226 for setting up and maintaining awired or wireless connection with an interface of a differentcommunication device of communication system 1200, as well as radiointerface 1227 for setting up and maintaining at least wirelessconnection 1270 with UE 1230 located in a coverage area (not shown inFIG. 12) served by base station 1220. Communication interface 1226 maybe configured to facilitate connection 1260 to host computer 1210.Connection 1260 may be direct or it may pass through a core network (notshown in FIG. 12) of the telecommunication system and/or through one ormore intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system. In theembodiment shown, hardware 1225 of base station 1220 further includesprocessing circuitry 1228, which may comprise one or more programmableprocessors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these (not shown) adaptedto execute instructions. Base station 1220 further has software 1221stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

Communication system 1200 further includes UE 1230 already referred to.Its hardware 1235 may include radio interface 1237 configured to set upand maintain wireless connection 1270 with a base station serving acoverage area in which UE 1230 is currently located. Hardware 1235 of UE1230 further includes processing circuitry 1238, which may comprise oneor more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these(not shown) adapted to execute instructions. UE 1230 further comprisessoftware 1231, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1230 andexecutable by processing circuitry 1238. Software 1231 includes clientapplication 1232. Client application 1232 may be operable to provide aservice to a human or non-human user via UE 1230, with the support ofhost computer 1210. In host computer 1210, an executing host application1212 may communicate with the executing client application 1232 via OTTconnection 1250 terminating at UE 1230 and host computer 1210. Inproviding the service to the user, client application 1232 may receiverequest data from host application 1212 and provide user data inresponse to the request data. OTT connection 1250 may transfer both therequest data and the user data. Client application 1232 may interactwith the user to generate the user data that it provides.

It is noted that host computer 1210, base station 1220 and UE 1230illustrated in FIG. 12 may be similar or identical to host computer1130, one of base stations 1112 a, 1112 b, 1112 c and one of UEs 1191,1192 of FIG. 11, respectively. This is to say, the inner workings ofthese entities may be as shown in FIG. 12 and independently, thesurrounding network topology may be that of FIG. 11.

In FIG. 12, OTT connection 1250 has been drawn abstractly to illustratethe communication between host computer 1210 and UE 1230 via basestation 1220, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices andthe precise routing of messages via these devices. Networkinfrastructure may determine the routing, which it may be configured tohide from UE 1230 or from the service provider operating host computer1210, or both. While OTT connection 1250 is active, the networkinfrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamicallychanges the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing considerationor reconfiguration of the network).

Wireless connection 1270 between UE 1230 and base station 1220 is inaccordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughoutthis disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve theperformance of OTT services provided to UE 1230 using OTT connection1250, in which wireless connection 1270 forms the last segment. Moreprecisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the data rate,latency, and power consumption, and thereby provide benefits such ase.g., reduced user waiting time, better responsiveness, and extendedbattery lifetime.

A measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoringdata rate, latency and other factors on which the one or moreembodiments improve. There may further be an optional networkfunctionality for reconfiguring OTT connection 1250 between hostcomputer 1210 and UE 1230, in response to variations in the measurementresults. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality forreconfiguring OTT connection 1250 may be implemented in software 1211and hardware 1215 of host computer 1210 or in software 1231 and hardware1235 of UE 1230, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may bedeployed in or in association with communication devices through whichOTT connection 1250 passes; the sensors may participate in themeasurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantitiesexemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities fromwhich software 1211, 1231 may compute or estimate the monitoredquantities. The reconfiguring of OTT connection 1250 may include messageformat, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; thereconfiguring need not affect base station 1220, and it may be unknownor imperceptible to base station 1220. Such procedures andfunctionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certainembodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signalingfacilitating host computer 1210's measurements of throughput,propagation times, latency, and the like. The measurements may beimplemented in that software 1211 and 1231 causes messages to betransmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using OTTconnection 1250 while it monitors propagation times, errors, etc.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in acommunication system, in accordance with one embodiment. Thecommunication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UEwhich may be those described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. Forsimplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to FIG. 13will be included in this section. In step 1310, the host computerprovides user data. In substep 1311 (which may be optional) of step1310, the host computer provides the user data by executing a hostapplication. In step 1320, the host computer initiates a transmissioncarrying the user data to the UE. In step 1330 (which may be optional),the base station transmits to the UE the user data which was carried inthe transmission that the host computer initiated, in accordance withthe teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.In step 1340 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a clientapplication associated with the host application executed by the hostcomputer.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in acommunication system, in accordance with one embodiment. Thecommunication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UEwhich may be those described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. Forsimplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to FIG. 14will be included in this section. In step 1410 of the method, the hostcomputer provides user data. In an optional substep (not shown) the hostcomputer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step1420, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user datato the UE. The transmission may pass via the base station, in accordancewith the teachings of the embodiments described throughout thisdisclosure. In step 1430 (which may be optional), the UE receives theuser data carried in the transmission.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in acommunication system, in accordance with one embodiment. Thecommunication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UEwhich may be those described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. Forsimplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to FIG. 15will be included in this section. In step 1510 (which may be optional),the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionallyor alternatively, in step 1520, the UE provides user data. In substep1521 (which may be optional) of step 1520, the UE provides the user databy executing a client application. In substep 1511 (which may beoptional) of step 1510, the UE executes a client application whichprovides the user data in reaction to the received input data providedby the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed clientapplication may further consider user input received from the user.Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided,the UE initiates, in substep 1530 (which may be optional), transmissionof the user data to the host computer. In step 1540 of the method, thehost computer receives the user data transmitted from the UE, inaccordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughoutthis disclosure.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in acommunication system, in accordance with one embodiment. Thecommunication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UEwhich may be those described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. Forsimplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to FIG. 16will be included in this section. In step 1610 (which may be optional),in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughoutthis disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. Instep 1620 (which may be optional), the base station initiatestransmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step1630 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user datacarried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefitsdisclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional unitsor modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatusmay comprise a number of these functional units. These functional unitsmay be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one ormore microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digitalhardware, which may include DSPs, special-purpose digital logic, and thelike. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program codestored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory suchas ROM, RAM, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storagedevices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes programinstructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or datacommunications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one ormore of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, theprocessing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unitto perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

Abbreviations

At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in thisdisclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations,preference should be given to how it is used above. If listed multipletimes below, the first listing should be preferred over any subsequentlisting(s).

-   2G Second Generation-   3G Third Generation-   3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project-   4G Fourth Generation-   5G Fifth Generation-   AC Alternating Current-   AP Access Point-   ARFCN Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number-   ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit-   ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode-   BS Base Station-   BSC Base Station Controller-   BTS Base Transceiver Station-   CD Compact Disk-   CDMA Code Division Multiple Access-   COTS Commercial Off-the-Shelf-   CPE Customer Premise Equipment-   CPU Central Processing Unit-   CQD Cell Quality Derivation-   CSI-RS Channel State Information Reference Signal-   D2D Device-to-Device-   DAS Distributed Antenna System-   DC Direct Current-   DIMM Dual In-line Memory Module-   DL Downlink-   DSP Digital Signal Processor-   DVD Digital Video Disk-   EEPROM Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory-   eNB Evolved Node B-   EPROM Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory-   E-SMLC Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center-   FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array-   GHz Gigahertz-   gNB New Radio Base Station-   GPS Global Positioning System-   GSCN Global Synchronization Channel Number-   GSM Global System for Mobile Communications-   HDDS Holographic Digital Data Storage-   HD-DVD High-Density Digital Video Disk-   IE Information Element-   I/O Input and Output-   IoT Internet of Things-   IP Internet Protocol-   kHz Kilohertz-   LAN Local Area Network-   LEE Laptop Embedded Equipment-   LME Laptop Mounted Equipment-   LTE Long Term Evolution-   M2M Machine-to-Machine-   MANO Management and Orchestration-   MCE Multi-Cell/Multicast Coordination Entity-   MDT Minimization of Drive Tests-   MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output-   MME Mobility Management Entity-   MO Measurement Object-   ms Millisecond-   MSC Mobile Switching Center-   MSR Multi-Standard Radio-   MTC Machine Type Communication-   NB-IoT Narrowband Internet of Things-   NFV Network Function Virtualization-   NIC Network Interface Controller-   NR New Radio-   NR-PBCH New Radio Physical Broadcast Channel-   NR-PSS New Radio Primary Synchronization Signal-   NR-SSS New Radio Secondary Synchronization Signal-   O&M Operation and Maintenance-   OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing-   OSS Operations Support System-   OTT Over-the-Top-   PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel-   PCell Primary Cell-   PDA Personal Digital Assistant-   PRB Physical Resource Block-   PROM Programmable Read Only Memory-   PSCell Primary Secondary Cell-   PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network-   RAID Redundant Array of Independent Disks-   RAM Random Access Memory-   RAN Radio Access Network-   RAT Radio Access Technology-   RF Radio Frequency-   RNC Radio Network Controller-   ROM Read Only Memory-   RRC Radio Resource Control-   RRH Remote Radio Head-   RRM Radio Resource Management-   RS Reference Signal-   RUIM Removable User Identity-   SCell Secondary Cell-   SDRAM Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory-   SIM Subscriber Identity Module-   SMTC SS/PBCH Block Measurement Time Configuration-   SOC System on a Chip-   SON Self-Organizing Network-   SONET Synchronous Optical Networking-   SS Synchronization Signal-   SSB Synchronization Signal/Physical Broadcast Channel Block-   TS Technical Specification-   UE User Equipment-   UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System-   USB Universal Serial Bus-   UTRAN Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network-   VMM Virtual Machine Monitor-   VNE Virtual Network Element-   VNF Virtual Network Function-   VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol-   WAN Wide Area Network-   WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access-   WD Wireless Device-   WiMax Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access-   WLAN Wireless Local Area Network

Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modificationsto the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements andmodifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosedherein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operation of a User Equipment (UE) toperform cell quality derivation in a wireless communication network, themethod comprising: obtaining, via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signalingfrom a network node, a measurement configuration that includes a list ofmeasurement objects, wherein a measurement object in the list ofmeasurement objects specifies a Synchronization Signal/PhysicalBroadcast Channel Block (SSB) frequency; obtaining a serving cellconfiguration of a serving cell, the serving cell configurationproviding frequency information that specifies an absolute frequency ofan SSB to be used for the serving cell, and wherein the absolutefrequency of the SSB to be used for the serving cell matches the SSBfrequency of the measurement object; obtaining parameters to performcell quality derivation for the serving cell of the UE from themeasurement object; and performing cell quality derivation for theserving cell based on the obtained parameters.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the SSB frequency indicates a frequency location an SSB to bemeasured or to be used as a synchronization source for Channel StateInformation Reference Signal (CSI-RS) resources.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the measurement object indicates a frequency location of aChannel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) to be measured or areference frequency that serves to locate where the CSI-RS is located ina Physical Resource Block (PRB) grid.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein:the UE is configured, by the wireless communication network, with one ormore measurement objects, wherein each measurement object of the one ormore measurement objects comprises parameters that enable the UE toperform cell quality derivation; the UE is configured with measurementevents each having a corresponding measurement identifier, where eachmeasurement identifier links one of the one or more measurement objectsto a respective reporting configuration; and the measurement object fromwhich the parameters perform cell quality derivation for the servingcell are obtained by the UE is a particular measurement object, fromamong the one or more measurement objects.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the absolute frequency of the SSB to be used for the servingcell comprises an absoluteFrequencySSB parameter included in aFrequencyInfoDL information element of the serving cell configuration.6. The method of claim 1, wherein the RRC signaling comprises an RRCreconfiguration message.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein themeasurement object comprises a MeasObjectNR information element.
 8. Auser equipment (UE) for performing cell quality derivation in a wirelesscommunication network, the UE comprising: a non-transitory memory; andone or more hardware processors coupled to the non-transitory memory andconfigured to read instructions from the non-transitory memory to causethe UE to perform operations comprising: obtaining, via Radio ResourceControl (RRC) signaling from a network node, a measurement configurationthat includes a list of measurement objects, wherein a measurementobject in the list of measurement objects specifies a SynchronizationSignal/Physical Broadcast Channel Block (SSB) frequency; obtaining aserving cell configuration of a serving cell, the serving cellconfiguration providing frequency information that specifies an absolutefrequency of an SSB to be used for the serving cell, and wherein theabsolute frequency of the SSB to be used for the serving cell matchesthe SSB frequency of the measurement object; obtaining parameters toperform cell quality derivation for the serving cell of the UE from themeasurement object; and performing cell quality derivation for theserving cell based on the obtained parameters.
 9. The UE of claim 8,wherein the SSB frequency indicates a frequency location an SSB to bemeasured or to be used as a synchronization source for Channel StateInformation Reference Signal (CSI-RS) resources.
 10. The UE of claim 8,wherein the measurement object indicates a frequency location of aChannel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) to be measured or areference frequency that serves to locate where the CSI-RS is located ina Physical Resource Block (PRB) grid.
 11. The UE of claim 8, wherein:the UE is configured, by the wireless communication network, with one ormore measurement objects, wherein each measurement object of the one ormore measurement objects comprises parameters that enable the UE toperform cell quality derivation; the UE is configured with measurementevents each having a corresponding measurement identifier, where eachmeasurement identifier links one of the one or more measurement objectsto a respective reporting configuration; and the measurement object fromwhich the parameters perform cell quality derivation for the servingcell are obtained by the UE is a particular measurement object, fromamong the one or more measurement objects.
 12. The UE of claim 8,wherein the absolute frequency of the SSB to be used for the servingcell comprises an absoluteFrequencySSB parameter included in aFrequencyInfoDL information element of the serving cell configuration.13. The UE of claim 8, wherein the RRC signaling comprises an RRCreconfiguration message.
 14. The UE of claim 8, wherein the measurementobject comprises a MeasObjectNR information element.
 15. Anon-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereonmachine-readable instructions executable to cause a user equipment (UE)to perform operations comprising: obtaining, via Radio Resource Control(RRC) signaling from a network node, a measurement configuration thatincludes a list of measurement objects, wherein a measurement object inthe list of measurement objects specifies a SynchronizationSignal/Physical Broadcast Channel Block (SSB) frequency; obtaining aserving cell configuration of a serving cell, the serving cellconfiguration providing frequency information that specifies an absolutefrequency of an SSB to be used for the serving cell, and wherein theabsolute frequency of the SSB to be used for the serving cell matchesthe SSB frequency of the measurement object; obtaining parameters toperform cell quality derivation for the serving cell of the UE from themeasurement object; and performing cell quality derivation for theserving cell based on the obtained parameters.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the SSB frequencyindicates a frequency location an SSB to be measured or to be used as asynchronization source for Channel State Information Reference Signal(CSI-RS) resources.
 17. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 15, wherein the measurement object indicates a frequency locationof a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) to be measuredor a reference frequency that serves to locate where the CSI-RS islocated in a Physical Resource Block (PRB) grid.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 15, wherein: the UE is configured, bya wireless communication network, with one or more measurement objects,wherein each measurement object of the one or more measurement objectscomprises parameters that enable the UE to perform cell qualityderivation; the UE is configured with measurement events each having acorresponding measurement identifier, where each measurement identifierlinks one of the one or more measurement objects to a respectivereporting configuration; and the measurement object from which theparameters perform cell quality derivation for the serving cell areobtained by the UE is a particular measurement object, from among theone or more measurement objects.
 19. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 15, wherein the absolute frequency of the SSBto be used for the serving cell comprises an absoluteFrequencySSBparameter included in a FrequencyInfoDL information element of theserving cell configuration; and wherein the measurement object comprisesa MeasObjectNR information element.
 20. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 15, wherein the RRC signaling comprises an RRCreconfiguration message.